Albon and Vowles reject Alonso's claim that the back of the grid is weak
Fernando Alonso stood by his verdict that the lower third of the grid is of "very low" quality ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix. Alex Albon, his Williams team principal James Vowles and several other drivers pushed back, calling the 2026 field one of the strongest in years.
A row that started in Austin
It began with a first-lap collision. After the United States Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso said the quality of the drivers in the lower third of the field was "very low", a remark aimed at Williams driver Alex Albon after contact that damaged the Aston Martin. Alonso finished 16th, a lap down.
Before the Mexican Grand Prix he did not back away. According to The Race, he said he was not naming a number of drivers but that everyone knows which drivers he means. He called the clash an unnecessary mistake, while accepting that cars lower down the order have less grip, which leads to more errors.
Albon, Vowles and the paddock reply
Albon answered in the same press conference week. He described the fight as a good battle and the contact as roughly 50/50, and said he respects Alonso but disagrees with him. In his view the level is strong from top to bottom, and the days of pay drivers are over.
Williams team principal James Vowles backed his driver on Friday in Mexico City. PlanetF1 reports that he called the Lap 1 clash a racing incident in which two drivers went for the same piece of tarmac. Alonso, he said, is "entitled to his opinion", but Vowles disagreed and said the grid is full of race winners and podium contenders, Alonso included. Asked whether this was the strongest grid he had seen, he answered yes, arguing that only a few milliseconds separate the teams at the back.
The Race lists further voices on the same side. Charles Leclerc called the standard very high and Albon exceptional; Carlos Sainz, Albon's team-mate, called the criticism harsh and pointed to dirty air and traffic as reasons for more incidents; Pierre Gasly, Oliver Bearman and Sergio Pérez also rejected the idea that the back of the field lacks quality.
What the numbers show
Our results data covers 18 races so far in 2026. In those races Alonso has scored 7 points, with a best finish of eighth, while Albon has scored 5 points, with a best finish of eighth as well. Several of the drivers quoted above argued that results at the back say more about the car than about the driver.
Alonso was eliminated in Q1 in Mexico after stopping his Aston Martin on track, so the two start the race far apart from each other.
